Swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. In 1578, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens.

The activity was practised as early as 2500 BC, as indicated by ancient Egyptian clay seals. Cave paintings from the Stone Age depict individuals swimming, and even the Bible has references to it also. Ancient civilisations in Greece and Rome built dedicated pools and encouraged people to develop it as a useful skill.

Swimming dates back to around 2600 B.C.E. This is when the first pool was created, in Mohenjo-Daro. Cave art depicting people swimming from approximately 2500 B.C.E was uncovered in Ancient Egyptian caves. Evidence proves that it later spread to civilizations like Ancient Greece, Rome, Japan, & Assyria.

Archaeological and other evidence shows swimming to have been practiced as early as 2500 bce in Egypt and thereafter in Assyrian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. In Greece and Rome swimming was a part of martial training and was, with the alphabet, also part of elementary education for males.